The present invention generally relates to a means for locating leaks in pipe systems and more particularly to a method and apparatus which utilizes acoustic signals generated at the source of the leak to determine the location thereof.
Numerous devices have been developed to detect the presence and/or magnitude of leaks in pipe systems. For example, a leak detecting system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,229 utilizes transducers on opposite sides of the suspected site of the leak to intercept the vibration or sound waves emanating therefrom. The transducers produce separate electrical signals, which are a function of the frequency of the intercepted soundwaves, and the extent of correlation between the two signals is varied with time delay means to establish the maximum correlation between the signals. The varied extent of the correlation is then used to enable the location of the leak to be determined. A further example of a related leak detecting system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,521, which utilizes transducer means for detecting transient pressure changes in fluid pipelines. The transducer means are positioned at spaced apart locations along the pipeline such that a leak will occur between two adjacent transducer means. The signal from a transducer means is displaced or delayed in time by an amount corresponding to the location of the leak in relationship to a transducer means, and the location of the leak can be pinpointed according to (1) the time delay of the transducer signals, (2) the known distance between the transducers, and (3) the velocity of sound in the fluid pipeline.
Other leak detecting systems are generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,170,152; 3,223,194; 3,264,864; 3,413,653; 3,500,676; 3,592,967; 3,626,750; 3,903,729; 3,930,556; and 4,075,601.